The present invention relates to measuring or gauging devices in general, and more particularly to improvements in tools for measuring or gauging the corners or edges of relatively large bodies, such as workpieces which consist of sheet metal or the like. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in tools or gauges which can ascertain the locations of corners on a variety of bodies, such as workpieces which constitute component parts of automotive vehicles or the like.
It is already known to provide a corner gauging tool with two sensors which are mounted in a common frame and each of which is movable substantially at right angles with reference to a different one of the two surfaces bounding a corner on a metallic or plastic body (hereinafter referred to as workpiece). Such tools are often used to ascertain the locations of rounded corners or edges. The positions of the two sensors are monitored, for example by electronic detector means, to ascertain whether or not the position of the corner conforms to or deviates from the desired or standard position.
A drawback of presently known tools of the just outlined character is that the measurement furnishes misleading indications if the location of the corner deviates from the desired or anticipated location to such an extent that one of the sensors directly engages the rounded surface of the corner rather than one of the surfaces which flank or bound the corner. If the corner is an internal or inside corner, the tool will indicate that the plane of the one surface is nearer to the respective sensor than is actually the case. Inversely, if the corner is an external corner, the measurement will falsely indicate an excessive distance between the one surface and the corresponding sensor.